


Anima Mea

by Leen_Moufti



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, First Meeting, Fluff, Gen, Oneshot, Pre-Canon, character origins, child character, missing parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 14:00:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18477691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leen_Moufti/pseuds/Leen_Moufti
Summary: A oneshot about how Wortox and Krampus met.





	Anima Mea

A young imp ran through the forest, his hooves hitting the ground in rhythm with the claps of thunder overhead.

His fur was drenched in a mix of mud and rainwater, and the tears streaming down his face mingled with the raindrops as they fell from the sky.

The only thought that was in his mind was a repeated chant of a single word.

_Run._

_Run run run run run-_

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, allowing the imp to catch a glance of a large, black, clawed hand as the bolt receded.

The insects in the underbrush chirped madly, their intense chirps seemingly addressed to the imp.

_Don't let her find you._

_Don't let her catch you._

_Keep running, boy._

_Keep running._

_Keep running, your momma's gone._

The imp's heart pounded as he kept running, with the only thing stopping him from getting caught being the occasional bolt of lightning.

His pursuer followed close behind, and even when he couldn't see her, he could hear her.

He could hear her splitting the small trees apart as she made her way through them.

He could hear her giggling as she swiped her clawed hands in an attempt to grab him.

Worst of all, he could hear her taunting him.

_**"Heh, heh~ Oh, little boy.... Why do you run? Don't you want to see your momma again? She misses you... Why don't you come and give her a big hug?"** _

The imp shook his head and sobbed.

He wanted to hug his momma. He wanted to bury his face in her fur and sob as she comforted him and told him that everything was okay.

But he knew the monster was lying.

He knew that his momma was gone, and would never come back.

Another bolt of lightning struck, and he screamed when he saw the black hand closer than ever before.

_**"Oh? Is something wrong? Momma's here... There's no need to be scared, little one... Why don't come to her and let her hold you close?"** _

The imp sobbed more as another bolt of lightning struck and set a tree in front of him ablaze, saving him from being grabbed by the monster at the last moment.

He heard a mixture of woman's scream and an animalistic shriek of pain as the fire blazed, protecting him from her wrath.

The imp stared at his savior with wide eyes before he scrunched up his nose and felt his throat tighten.

He wailed in despair as he fell to the ground and curled into a ball, feeling the mud under him on his face.

The fire was too big for the rain to put it out, yet it barely granted him any warmth to the imp curled up in the fetal position.

He was so tired, his feet hurt, it was so cold, and he was so, so hungry...

He squeezed his eyes shut and, between wails, hiccuped out a single word.

"Momma..."

"Hello, child."

The imp gasped and opened his eyes, shivering in fear as he processed the sight in front of him.

Towering above him was what looked like an overgrown adult imp, but was definitely not even an imp.

He had red fur, yellow scleras with black pupils, and two horns sticking straight out of he head that curled into spirals.

He also held a large burlap sack over his shoulder, and he was _huge_.

The huge imp-but-maybe-not-really-an-imp creature spoke.

"Hello, child," he repeated, looking down at the imp. "I am Krampus. Who are you?"

Still shivering, the imp sniffled before shakily answering, "W-Wortox, s-sir."

"Wortox..." Krampus mused, before kneeling down to the child's level. "Why are you out here all alone?"

Wortox wiped the snot from his nose as he answered, "Be- because-"

He screamed when a bolt of lightning struck the ground near him, and hugged Krampus tightly, burying his face in his fur and whimpering as he continued to speak.

"Because the Night Monster took Momma..."

Krampus was silent as Wortox continued to cry, before saying, "You seem hungry."

Wortox sniffled again before responding, "Me and- and Momma w-were looking for food, and- and then-"

A sob escaped his throat as he continued, "-and then the N-Night Monster came, and- and Momma pushed me out of the way so she wouldn't get me!"

Wortox hugged Krampus tighter as he remembered his mother screaming for him to run.

Krampus silently listened to the child sobbing, and did not hug him back. Instead, he reached into his sack, and pulled something out to show Wortox.

"Here."

Wortox looked up to see what Krampus held.

In Krampus' hand was something that like a round, red puff of smoke. It was mainly red, but it had a darker streak of red in it that was shaped like a spiral.

"Wh- wh- what is that...?" Wortox asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

"This," Krampus replied, holding it in front of Wortox's face, "is a soul."

"Whoa..." Wortox muttered, wiping a few lingering tears from his cheek.

Krampus placed the soul into Wortox's hand, and the child held it up and sniffed it.

"What... What do I do with it?"

"Simple," Krampus said, pushing the soul towards Wortox's mouth. "You eat it."

Wortox gasped, nearly dropping the soul.

"B-but Momma told me never to eat a soul! Momma and I only eat- ate meat and plants! And- and where- where did you get the soul?"

"I took it from someone."

"Who- who did you take it from?"

"A rabbit hopping about. It's not that different from you and your mother hunting for meat, no?"

"I... I guess not..."

"..."

"..."

"... You can eat the soul if you wish."

Wortox nodded, closed his eyes, and chomped down on the soul, swallowing it in one gulp.

The effect was instantaneous.

A wave of warmth surged through his body, ridding him of the cold as the soul travelled down into his stomach.

For once in his life, Wortox felt... full.

There was no pain of hunger, no lingering feeling of emptiness in belly; just the satisfaction of finally eating something filling.

"I take it that you like it?" Krampus asked.

Wortox nodded and hugged Krampus again. "Y-yes, tha-thank you, Krampus!"

Krampus did not hug him back, and spoke, "In this world, you must take things to survive. Often times, you must take things from those who do not deserve them. Just like I am taking you from the Night Monster. She does not deserve you."

Wortox gasped when realizing what Krampus was saying.

"You- you're saying that I can stay with you?"

"Of course."

Wortox hugged Krampus tighter in thanks.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! N-now, I won't- I won't be alone! *yawn*"

Krampus scooped up Wortox in his arm as the exhausted imp yawned.

"You've been through a lot tonight," Krampus said, cradling him in his arms. "Sleep now."

Wortox yawned again as he curled into a ball, and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Krampus."

"Good night, Wortox," Krampus replied.

Krampus walked through the forest, chuckling as Charlie screeched in protest of him taking away her prey.

**Author's Note:**

> Admittedly, the title came from typing the word "soul" in Google Translate and seeing what the Latin word for it was.


End file.
